BIU stages athlete education activities at Youth and Junior World Championships The BIU staged educational activities at the 2023 Youth and Junior World Championships, which took place in Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan on 4 to 10 March. Katharina Gatterer, the BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer, led the activities on-site, in collaboration with QAZ NADO, the local National Anti-Doping Organisation. Anti-doping seminar An anti-doping seminar for youth athletes was held on 6 March. The seminar was mainly targeted at youth athletes that were competing at a major event for the first time. The sess ..read more

A podcast interview with Greg McKenna, Head of the Biathlon Integrity Unit What is the BIU’s mandate? What is the relationship between the BIU and the International Biathlon Union? Is maintaining integrity in biathlon solely the job of the BIU? How can athletes and others in the biathlon community support the work of the BIU? There’s a possible misconception that the BIU’s work is almost exclusively concerned with anti-doping testing. In this podcast interview, Greg McKenna, Head of the BIU, seeks to dispel that myth by answering the questions listed above. The truth is that there’s much more ..read more

The BIU held an outreach session at the IBU World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva on 20 January, 2023. The aim of the Outreach was to interact with athletes and inform them about the day-to-day work of the BIU, including anti-doping, safeguarding, match-fixing, whistleblowing and investigations. Katharina Gatterer, the BIU’s Safeguarding and Education Officer was on hand to answer the athletes’ and coaches’ questions. Many athletes stopped by the Outreach stand, and signed a board with the message: ‘Remain true to yourself’. The BIU aims to hold similar interactions with athletes in all biathlon co ..read more

As part of a legal challenge to a sanction imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Anti-Doping Tribunal (CAS ADD), a Russian biathlete has recently challenged to the validity of the CAS ADD at the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFT).  In an important decision for the Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU), the SFT has confirmed the validity of the CAS ADD as a first-instance disciplinary tribunal in delegation by sports federations, and the subsequent appeal to the CAS Appeals Division (CAS). In 2019, the International Biathlon Union delegated its disciplinary authority to the CAS ADD for the ..read more

An exciting opportunity to join the Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) as the Unit Lawyer. The BIU is seeking applications for an enthusiastic Lawyer to come and join the join us here in Salzburg, Austria. As part of its programme of governance and integrity reforms, the IBU established the operationally independent BIU in December 2019. The role of the BIU is to protect the integrity of biathlon. It does this through innovation, education, intelligence gathering, investigations and prosecuting rule violations and other breaches of integrity. Biathlon Integrity Unit Lawyer job description, further ..read more

The BIU held successful and well-attended educational sessions via Zoom during the Junior Cup in Obertilliach, Austria (14-17 December 2022) and the IBU Cup in Ridnaun, Italy (15-18 December 2022). The sessions, comprising a webinar on Safeguarding, were attended by over 70 athletes from 15 different nations. This was a new topic for athletes, so the sessions began with a short informational presentation, before the athletes broke out into small groups to discuss case studies. Athletes were engaged and interested, and the presentation and case studies led to lively discussion afterwards with ..read more

With the new biathlon season now under way, several athletes can expect to be subject to In-Competition testing for banned substances at each race. Tests at World Cup, IBU Cup and Junior Cup events are carried out in conjunction with National Anti-Doping Agencies or other service providers, which act as sample-taking agencies at the events. Certain substances are forbidden only In-Competition (the period beginning at 11.59pm on the day before a competition in which the athlete is scheduled to participate, and ending with the conclusion of the competition and the sample-taking process). Substa ..read more

The BIU contributed another theoretical training session for athletes at a winter IBU-IOC development camp, held in Martell, Italy on 29 November to 3 December. The session was a follow-up to one delivered at an IBU-IOC development camp in Antholz, Italy on 14 October. The training camps are held for National Federations each year by the IBU, in conjunction with the IOC, with the aim of supporting them with both practical and theoretical knowledge and training. A total of 19 male and 18 female athletes, representing 19 national federations, participated in the session at the training camp in ..read more

BIU steps up co-operation with NADOs ahead of new season as hundreds of Biathlon Integrity Certificates are issued The Biathlon Integrity Unit has been implementing a comprehensive out-of-competition doping testing programme in the run-up to the 2022-23 season, with results that are in line with previous years. During the period, the BIU’s already close co-operation with National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) has been enhanced, with the NADOs testing more athletes that are not part of the International Biathlon Union’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP) of athletes that are subject to out-of-c ..read more

It’s that time of year again. You begin to feel unwell, and then you go down with flu-like symptoms. To get back to training, you decide to take some flu medication. WAIT! Stop right there… As an athlete, you can’t just take any medication prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter. It could contain prohibited substances. And it’s your responsibility to check the medication before you use it: You can ask your National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO) for help or use their drug database (https://www.globaldro.com/home/other-countries); Or you can use GlobalDro (https://www.globaldro.com ..read more